today at five — france, germany and united statesjoin with britain to condemn the poison attack on a former russian agent and his daughter in salisbury. theresa may visits salisbury today, for the first time since sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned. she welcomed the international support for britain's response. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act, this despicable act, that has taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. russia denies any involvement and says it will expel british diplomats in response to the uk's action. we'll have the latest — and we'll be talking to a former british ambassador to moscow. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it was only fire resistant for half the time it was meant to be. there are calls to dismantle northampton county council, after it fails to deal with a huge deficit. and the bbc‘s school report focuses this year on helping students identify fake news.

it's 5 o'clock. our main story is that the leaders of the usa, germany and france have issued a joint statement with the uk saying the poisoning of a former russian spy in salisbury is an attack on british sovereignty. they also say that the use of the novichok nerve agent is the first offensive deployment of such a substance in europe since the second world war. theresa may has been visiting salisbury today and has been to the park where sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found unconscious. the kremlin says british diplomats will be ordered to leave moscow soon, following yesterday's expulsion of 23 russians from london.

our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has the latest. theresa may in the quiet english town, where events 11 days ago triggered this growing diplomatic row. visiting for the first time the scene of the crime, the first use of a military grade nerve agent on british soil. the consequences of this shocking act now reverberating around the world. i'm pleased to have been able to come down here to salisbury, to speak to people who responded to this terrible incident that took place. and, as you know, iannounced in the house of commons yesterday the action we are taking. we do hold russia culpable for this, this brazen, brazen act, and despicable act that has taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. at sergei skripal‘s modest home not

far away the painstaking investigation goes on, but britain has now done enough to persuade several of its key allies and so, today, and rare joint several of its key allies and so, today, and rarejoint statement several of its key allies and so, today, and rare joint statement from the prime minister, with her american, french and german counterparts. we share the uk assessment, they write, that there is no plausible alternative explanation and note that russia's failure to address the legitimate request by the uk government further underlines its responsibility. at the white house, with the visiting irish prime minister, donald trump seems more and more convinced. it's a very sad situation, it certainly looks like the russians were behind it. something that should never, ever happen and we're taking it very seriously, as i think are many others. strong words but are britain's allies willing to go further and take actions of their own? president macron spoke to theresa may this morning. he says he'll announce his own measures in the coming days. is a global disgust at what has happened and that's very

important and we will continue to make the case to our friends and allies that as a community of nations we need to stand up to russia. but russia is undaunted. the government continuing to deny any involvement and now threatening to retaliate. translation: due to action, non—friendly actions, taken by the british against the russian federation, we are going to talk about retaliatory measures that we will take. we are working on them at the moment and we will take them as soon as possible. the embassy diplomats and spies wait to hear if they too will be packing their bags. it seems inevitable. back in salisbury two cars are removed from outside detectives nick bailey's house. downing street says the prime

minister visited the policeman in hospital, where he is still recovering. paul adams, bbc hospital, where he is still recovering. pauladams, bbc news. let's go live to salisbury and duncan kennedy is our correspondent there. just picking up on the last section of the report, tell us more about the prime minister's visit today, and what went on. about the prime minister's visit today, and what went onlj about the prime minister's visit today, and what went on. i certainly think it went down very well here in what's being seen as a highly symbolic visit by the prime minister. i think it had three main purposes. first of all to trees made to see the locations of connected with the attack, including the park bench, the restaurant and the bar where the skripals ate and drank date and it gave the prime minister a chance to be briefed by the acting chief constable of wiltshire. he was able to give a detailed briefing on the police investigation. it's not actually a wiltshire police investigation at the moment, it's being led by counter—terrorism officers but he will have been appraised of all the details and

passed them to the prime minister. thirdly, it was all about theresa may meeting real people, the real people of salisbury here. she met business owners in shops alongside here, some of whom have complained about the amount of police activity harming business. mrs may spoke of compensation for them. and also mrs may met members of the emergency services who took part in that incident two weeks ago. later on she went to the hospital, where sir georg yulia skripal have been treated and met their detective such a nick bailey, who was caught up in the incident. he attended the skripals that day and we understand she had a private conversation with him. details are not being released. this afternoon we understand the army and police went to the village where nick bailey lives and took away two cars. we don't know whether they wear his cars or neighbours' cars, those details are not released, but it goes to show the police investigation is continuing and spreads not only to the city of salisbury but way beyond as well.

duncan kennedy, thank you. let's go live to moscow and richard galpin. it's no longer a question of if but when moscow announces some retaliation? i think that's absolutely right. we don't know when it's going to be, but certainly the kremlin today has been saying that they will respond soon and it will be vladimir putin who will make the final decision, presumably on what the measures are going to be and what the timing will be, and they are also saying they will inform the british governments first. the assumption of course is that it will be expulsion of british diplomats from the embassy here in moscow, potentially the same number, 23, russians being expelled, therefore 23 british diplomats and presumably spies amongst them being expelled but we don't know the details yet. we are still waiting to hear from the kremlin or the foreign ministry to make that all important announcement. they think it's going

to happen quite soon now. announcement. they think it's going to happen quite soon nowm announcement. they think it's going to happen quite soon now. if it does happen we'll be back to you right away, richard galpin in moscow. let's go to ben wright in westminster. the political landscape has changed somewhat given the events in salisbury. yesterday's exchanges in the commons brought their own set of questions. what does it look like there today? you are completely right, and in particular there's been a lot of anger on the labour backbenchers among some labour mps reflecting on howjeremy corbyn performed in the commons yesterday, when theresa may stood up to say that in her view the russian government, the state, was culpable for this attack, listing the sanctions and expulsions the government would be pursuing. in response in the commons yesterday, jeremy corbyn didn't say clearly that he agreed that russia was to blame, he didn't really seem to way in giving his support to those measures the government was pursuing andi measures the government was pursuing and i think that caused huge anger among a lot of labour mps, evident in the fact 19 of them have

something called on early day motion saying clearly that russia is responsible for this attack. this morning you have labour's defence spokesman nia griffith some out to have to say clearly herself that russia was to blame for this. so questions have been following jeremy corbyn around today. he was asked on a visit to carlisle to stay to gain what he thought had happened and who was to blame. the evidence points towards russia on this, therefore the responsibility must be borne by those that made the weapon and those that brought the weapon into the country and those that used the weapon, but what i was asking is questions about the identity of the weapon and questions about the reference to the weapons convention and also the support of other allies. those are the questions i was asking — that's what the opposition is for. jeremy corbyn in carlisle, saying the evidence points towards russia. i think the heat is going out of that row within the labour party and now the government of course wait to find out from moscow what those

retaliatory measures are going to be. ben wright, thanks, and thanks to duncan and richard for their contributions. its 5:10pm. at about 5:20pm, in about ten minutes' time, i'll be talking tojerry ms smith's ——jerry i'll be talking tojerry ms smith's —— jerry smith, a former chemicals weapons inspector for the body that implements the international chemical weapons convention and i'll be talking to him about the nerve agent that was used in salisbury in that attack. jerry —— jerry smith joining us in ten minutes. and the laboratory where the scientists helped identify that rare nerve agent will receive a significant amount infunding. in his first major speech as defence secretary, gavin williamson confirmed plans to create a multi—million pound centre to counter the threat of chemical weapons at the ministry of defence laboratory porton down. our correspondent naomi grimley reports. it's a sobering thought — most of the uk's chemical warfare capability has been tied up over the last few days in the small cathedral city of salisbury.

so, how well equipped with the uk be if a country such as russia launched a larger attack than this? today, the defence secretary admitted that ministers should have thought more about this kind of threat. state—based dangers are increasing. back in 2010, we did not believe they posed us a credible threat. with the benefit of hindsight, this can at best be described as naive. russia, he said, was ripping up the international rule book. frankly, russia should go away, it should shut up... and he brought forward a planned announcement. we are investing £48 million in a new chemical weapons defence centre, to maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence. this is the defence, science and technology laboratory at porton down, shown here in a bbc documentary. it may be a world—class facility but, since 2010,

there have been painful cuts to the units which specialise in this kind of research. some experts also point to syria, arguing the west should have enforced red lines on chemical weapons there, and not allow them to be used with impunity. the rules have changed on the use of chemical weapons because we have done nothing about it, and it has been very salutary that we've, here in the united kingdom, we have seen a weapon of mass destruction, a chemical weapon attack on our soil, the first ever. now, i think that is bringing it home to the government that they must act. it was also announced today that thousands of front line troops will be vaccinated against anthrax. it may be a precaution, but it will start a debate — are we properly equipped for all the threats of an unpredictable world? naomi grimley, bbc news. the anglo—dutch consumer group unilever has chosen rotterdam

for its headquarters, rather than london. the company, which makes dozens of household brands, including dove soap and marmite, currently has head offices in both cities. our business correspondent theo leggett reports. unilever may not be a household name but its products can be found in almost every british household, including marmite, pot noodles and pg tips. unilever is a british business but it's also dutch. in fact it is two companies, one based in the building behind me here in london, and the other in rotterdam. now it has decided that is too unwieldy, so it will become one company based over in the netherlands. unilever has 169,000 employees worldwide, more than 7,000 are based in the uk. that is not expected to change. instead of having two legal structures, we will simply have one in the netherlands, and that will allow us to run our business a little bit faster and more efficiently.

the government has played down the compa ny‘s decision and said it is not connected in brexit. it is only the corporate headquarters that is moving, it's a relatively small number ofjobs, it will not impact on the amount of tax that unilever pays in the uk, and most importantly, the two fastest growing divisions within unilever — household products and personal care products — will be concentrated in the uk. analysts agree that business considerations will have influenced the company more than britain leaving the eu. it's very easy to view everything at the moment through the prism of brexit but there's a lot of other factors in play with unilever, not least the fact that the company's heritage lies both in the uk and the netherlands. it had to choose one of the two. politically, unilever‘s decision comes at an awkward time for a government which is trying to prove that britain will be open for business outside the the eu. theo leggett, bbc news. these are the headlines this

evening. the prime minister visit salisbury for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on a doorfrom spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it was only fire resistant for half the time that it was meant to be. there are calls to dismantle northamptonshire county council, after it fails to deal with a huge deficit. sport, the 12—1 shot won the stayers hurdle at cheltenham. it was the trainer's 60th win at cheltenham, equalling the record. gareth southgate has named four uncapped players in his squad for the upcoming friendlies against the netherlands and italy. his also recalled ashley young and jack wilshere. aaron ramsey is a notable absentee from the first squad named

by ryan giggs. he will miss that china cup to have a small procedure during the break. gareth bale has been included. it's a much changed england side that will face the already crowned champions ireland in the six nations this weekend. 0wen farrell moves back to fly half as eddiejones looks to avoid a third consecutive defeat in the tournament. i'll be back with more on all those stories at 5:30pm. a government inspector has recommended that northamptonshire county council, which has faced serious financial problems, be abolished and replaced with two new local authorities. a report said commissioners should take over almost all of the council's services in the meantime. 0ur correspondentjo black is at the council's headquarters. is this to do with financial problems or management problems,

what is it? think it's fair to say it's a bit of both. this council has been struggling financially for a very, very long time and heather smith, the lady who stepped down as leader earlier on today, said that she'd been warning government for some time about the spiralling costs of social care. this council here has been dubbed the worst run authority in the country by one of the local mps. it's faced unprecedented financial pressures and problems. earlier this year it but spending controls on its own money because it thought it was actually going to run out of cash. and then a few weeks ago it set its budget for next year and that budget will bring £40 million worth of cuts, so things like bus subsidies will go, around 21 libraries will 90, will go, around 21 libraries will go, there will be slashes in budget departments like trading standards and as you can imagine many people around here are really, really

worried. there's been lots of reaction about this today. the council leader heather smith stood down after this damning report. she said that she'd been made a scapegoat. 0ne said that she'd been made a scapegoat. one of the local mps, michael ellis, said that the management of the authority had been a national scandal, and he said he'd been appalled by the report. he said the report makes chilling reading. this is that report by the independent inspector. a couple of recommendations in here. one is that the authority is completely scrapped and replaced by two unitary authorities, and the other one is that the secretary of state, sajid javid, will be considering whether or not to put government commissioners into the building to help run the services. this exercises many local people who are really worried about the services here in northamptonshire. jo black,

in northamptonshire county council headquarters. the crown prosecution service has ruled out a further review by prosecutors into the death of 13—month—old poppi worthington, in barrow—in—furness in december 2012. a coroner concluded in january that poppi had been sexually assaulted by her father, paul worthington, before she died of asphyxia. he denies any wrongdoing. the cps said no new evidence had emerged that could change its decision not to prosecute. poppi's mother said she was "extremely disappointed" by the decision. a 44—year—old man has beenjailed for at least 30 years, after admitting stabbing to death a woman while she was at work in an aldi supermarket in skipton just before christmas. neville hord pleaded guilty to murdering 30—year—old jodie willsher, who was the daughter of his former partner. the mother of one died at the scene. prosecutors described hord's motive for the killing as ‘revenge'. let's return to the poisoning of a former russian spy in salisbury. theresa may has been

visiting the town today, she has received the backing of the leaders of germany, france and the usa. there was a joint statement saying it was an attack on british coventry and they say the use of novichok nerve agent is the first offensive deployment of such a substance in europe since the second world war. we're going to talk now tojerry smith, who is in salisbury. he's a former chemicals weapons inspector for the body that the international chemical weapons convention. can we underline here how high the stakes are in terms of the interaction between russia and the interaction between russia and the other nation states that are now demanding more clarification. certainly in regards to the chemical weapons convention this is pretty significant. now into what we call a

chapter nine element, where basically nation states as in the uk and russia are now trying to clarify the situation. this is what russia has been pushing for. what form would that clarification take? well, i understand that the pm is instructing samples to go to the 0p cw, where they will be taken to designated laboratories, they are anonymous laboratories and potentially other laboratories around the world that are designated approved and they will have anonymous tests done on them to essentially free if the conclusion is drawn the same as has been found in the uk. —— to see if the conclusion is drawn. the other element today is the fact that russia has been asked to provide details of that novichok programme, which started many years ago. yes. about ten years ago in fact. there

isa about ten years ago in fact. there is a scientific advisory board which is a scientific advisory board which isa is a scientific advisory board which is a bunch of societies that support the technical element and discussed novichok, but it was taken forward that there was no information forthcoming, so the uk is effectively putting russia on the spot here and asking them to supply something, almost asking them to admit to guilt, so it's quite a challenge for the situation. can you tell us something about this nerve agent? how long it can last, what the kind of threat is locally, even in minute quantities what does this constitute? novichok is a generic term for some nerve agents that were supposedly developed in the 1980s, 19705 and supposedly developed in the 19805, 19705 and 19805 by russia. most of the information in the public domain came from a whistle—blower who subsequently moved to the united states, so the information is that these agents are super toxic come up

to ten times more toxic than the other nerve agents that we offer more familiar with such as sarin and vx and one of their particular characteristics is that they are persistent. this can be achieved by being buried relatively thick liquid or powder, a dusty agent, which could hang around in the environment for significantly greater periods of time, so days. that would explain clearly all the care and thorough work that has been done in the salisbury area that we've been seeing over the past ten days or so. absolutely, yeah. when the first responders came and the identification of the poisoning and then a potential administration of poison as opposed to somebody taking it internally or recreationally, the issue then becomes 0k, where have they been, what have they touched, how have they got to the various locations, then the concern being that even in micro amounts this has

the potential to be hazardous to other people. why do we just press the point, you mentioned days, is it possible depending on the quantities that there could be the presence of this poison which lasts longer than that in the local area? how can that be detected? there are detection methods available for these agents. they can be a little more challenging than more regular methods, but they are possible. as far as the duration of how long they might hang around there, well, public health england has made a clear statement and this has been reinforced by others, stating that the risk is minimal. so therefore they have made an assessment that whatever they have found and whatever they have found and whatever they have found and whatever the activity that the decontamination guys have done, either from the fire service or perhaps the military as well, that that has been sufficient to lower the risk to a level that is of very low concern that there is

contamination danger for others. just on the manufacturing side of this, you've mentioned the russian, the soviet backed in the 705 and 805, but is this the kind of poison that could be made by other nation states ? that could be made by other nation states? is that possible? 0r that could be made by other nation states? is that possible? or is the character of this is so precise that we can say it could only have been made by russian sources?|j we can say it could only have been made by russian sources? i think we would struggle to say that, because the problem is that the information out in the open source relatively scant and certainly speaking to some of my non—military or non—government scientist friends from around the world that actually the understanding of how these agents might be manufactured is very, very scant. i think there is not necessarily a smoking gun here but it's certainly a challenge to identify where this might have come

from. thank you forjoining us today. jerry smith, the former head of contingency operations at the 0rganisation of contingency operations at the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, down in salisbury and our thanks to him forjoining us. the united nations refugee agency has described the civil war in syria as a colossal human tragedy, as it passes its seventh anniversary. half a million syrians have been killed and 13 million are in need of humanitarian assistance because of the fighting. here, cabinet ministers have described as utterly abhorrent the syrian regime's use of food and medical supplies as weapons of war. 0ur correspondent martin patience sent this report from beirut. this is a war with no end in sight. the rescuer calls to a young boy buried in the rubble, "where are you?" his home was hit by an air strike, but the boy survived. "where is my mother?" he cries. eastern ghouta is the latest

front line of syria's war and nowhere is safe. hospitals in the rebels‘ stronghold are overwhelmed by the wounded. their injuries testament to a nation torn apart by conflict. some of the most vulnerable have been allowed to leave eastern ghouta for medical treatment. among them, this farmer. but he's lost in his own country. translation: i don't know anything about my family until now. i haven't heard from them in ten days. i hope i can return to my family and see my children again. the war began when syrians took to the streets demanding the fall

of president bashar al—assad. they didn't know it then, but it was the start of a failed revolution. the syrian regime launched a brutal crackdown. in 2013, it carried out a chemical attack in eastern ghouta, killing hundreds. america said it crossed the red line and was poised to attack. but at the last minute, washington pulled out. that was a major turning point in the war. two years later, russia entered the conflict but on the side of the syrian government. moscow's support of president assad has now tilted the war in his favour. amid the chaos, the islamic state group seized control of large

parts of the country, but it has now been largely defeated. today the syrian army appears closer to re—taking eastern ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold on the outskirts of the capital. an extraordinary exodus of thousands of civilians is under way. for years, these people have survived a siege and bombardment. they have now left behind their homes and have no idea what lies ahead. martin patience, bbc news, beirut. we're joined today by helen, who has the weather for us. if you haven't heard already, winter

is returning. just before the weekend we get the biting easterly wind back and the rain we have at the moment will turn progressively to snow, initially over the hills of scotla nd to snow, initially over the hills of scotland so relatively mild for most of us overnight, temperatures above freezing, except over the hills, given all the cloud and rain as well. but through the course of tomorrow, progressively so, we'll see that easterly wind starting to dig its heels in and so the snow will start to fall at lower levels and we'll see some snow over the hills of northern england as well. further south and west still quite mild. with some sunshine and light winds in southern and western areas away from the showers you could have 14 degrees but there will be another band of rain meandering northwards as we go through the day. as we go through tomorrow night, that's when the easterly wind really takes hold. the rain turns to snow quite widely. we could see several centimetres in those showers. that easterly wind continues to pushing through the weekend. the weather front is close by enhanced the risk of more widespread snow across the south, so

there are warnings out. more on that on the website and i'll have more details in half an hour. this is bbc news. the headlines... the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. russia denies any involvement and warns it could ask some british diplomats to leave russia soon. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it was only fire resistant for half the time it was meant to be. there are calls to dismantle northamptonshire county council after it fails to deal with a huge budget deficit. now for the sport. we begin at cheltenham where

irish eyes were smiling. all six races were run by irish trained horses. the big race of the day, the stayers hurdle — won by penhill — a fantastic victory for willie mullins and paul townend. what a day it has been! it could be a green sweeper. six wins so far trained by irish trainers and a final race is going on behind me. we will have to find out whether it is a green sweet indeed. willie mullins has 161 races at the cheltenham festival in his career. that means he is the all—time leading cheltenham trainer. 61 winners for willie mullins. he is a quiet and understated man. penn hill one the

stayers hurdle. this is for the best long—distance hurdlers in the wild. it is about going over a long distance including the big hill at the end. the fairy tale win a before his trainer had cancer and his eff—iii; in w, ., .., , ., ., , — ~ other ———r today. the , e $the ryanair! big race today, the ryanair chase. this is worth more money than 710015 f, this ,. ,. fools r, this is . ,. horses fools r, this is . ,. horses who fools r, this is . ,. a re are not quite fast for horses who are not quite fast enough for the queen mother champion chase will stop —— stayers hurdle. everyone was hoping there would be a fairy tale with cue card but he pulled up. they‘ re

fairy tale with cue card but he pulled up. they're going to take him home and have a good look at him to see it maybe he will ever run again will stop he does not oh anything to grazing. the winner is owned by michael leary. —— oh anything to racing. this is the first time that michael 0'leary has won his own racing. this is the first time that michael 0'learj ahead or ggjvn racing. this is the first time that michael 0'learj ahead or‘ him. nn racing. this is the first time that michael 0'learj ahead or‘ him. the a decentfutureahe’ad affirm—flash ,' , ,. race behind me, tomorrow is the last race behind me, tomorrow is the gold cup day. will an irish trainer winner again? willie mullins has never done it. he said he has four runners and this could be his year. for the moment, thank you. rugby and head coach eddiejones has rung the changes

for england's six nations meeting with already crowned champions ireland — who are bidding for their third grand slam. fly—half george ford has been dropped... with 0wen farrell moving to 10 instead. dylan hartley returns to captain the side. while scrum—half danny care and forwardsjoe launchbury and dan cole all drop out of the starting 15 as england look to avoid a third straight defeat. we feel we have to players certain way to beat ireland was that they have had a fantastic run. we feel the need to bring a team on the field and need to play a certain way. not much change for the ireland squad. for wales as they aim for a second—placed finish in this year's championship. he takes over from gareth anscombe, who drops to the bench. that's all the sport for now.

just time to tell you that the good form for tiger woods has continued in orlando. he is well in contention after a four under par first round 68. you can get all the latest on that on the website. we will have more for you at 6:30 p:m.. more now on the latest developments in the deepening diplomatic crisis between the uk and russia. earlier today, theresa may visited salisbury, where she was briefed by health experts and police as she toured the sites at the centre of the investigation in to the poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal who remain in hospital. in his first major speech, the defence secretary gavin williamson said russia should wgo away and shut up." he also unveiled plans for a new multi—million pound chemical weapons defence centre

at porton down, where samples of the nerve agent used in salisbury have been under the microscope. in a show of unity, france, germany and the united states have joined britain in condemnation of the attack in salisbury and, in a statement, said there is no plausible alternative explanation to russia being behind it. russia meanwhile says it had nothing to do with the incident. the kremlin says it is outlining retaliatory measures after theresa may announced the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats from britain. joining me is sir rodric braithwaite. he was british ambassador to russia between 1988 and 1992. thank you for coming in. how high are the stakes on this? they are pretty high. this is a major bust up between us and the russians, the kind we have not seen for a long

time and it would be difficult to de—escalate. it could be quite nasty and last a long time. let's deal with the response we are likely to get from the kremlin. what kind of scale of expulsion will you expect? will they tried to upscale from what theresa may said yesterday?m will they tried to upscale from what theresa may said yesterday? it is usually 141. it is not always the case. in 1971 105 alleged agents we re case. in 1971 105 alleged agents were thrown out and up such a large numberand were thrown out and up such a large number and the russians could not think ofan number and the russians could not think of an appropriate response. it had the effect of making london a difficult place for the kgb to operate. that was rather effective. 0ther operate. that was rather effective. other exchanges between americans

and russians have usually been evenly balanced. it is in the interests of both sides that it should remain under some kind of control. what is your reading of the response the prime minister outlined yesterday, given that clearly there we re yesterday, given that clearly there were limitations on what she could do and she was under pressure in different ways? what kind of ways do you think could have been more effective or do think this is what she could do? there were two state m e nts she could do? there were two statements which were veryjudicious against a background of considerable hysteria in parliament with some politicians saying foolish things. i think her response was very measured and welljudged. think her response was very measured and well judged. reading think her response was very measured and welljudged. reading what she said, ithink and welljudged. reading what she said, i think it holds up very well. in terms of what she could do, the possibilities have been bandied about. a large number of expulsions and how large is large is a matter

ofjudgment. and how large is large is a matter of judgment. financial sanctions against the use by russians of the city of london, against them laundering money through our system. that could be cracked down. 0ther things aren't targeted measures against people in the senior russians who we believe are involved in human rights abuses or other malpractices. that is another possibility. i happen to think the threat to boycott the world cup will set the russians falling back with laughterfor various set the russians falling back with laughter for various reasons. the chances of britain winning are not very— we tried that with the olympic boycott a nd very— we tried that with the olympic boycott and she felled to persuade british athletes not to go. that was in1980. british athletes not to go. that was in 1980. and to some extent the sochi winter games. i do not think that is a serious proposition.

president putin is clearly a leader of immense power in his own territory. the way they will be regarding mess, to what extent will they be concerned there is a growing global voice around this? they are denying any involvement and have been robust in response. you have to go back to before putin came to power when russia with the collapse of the soviet union felt deeply humiliated. he promised to restore their self—respect and promised to restore russia's plays in the world and promised to make russia into a country that would be listened to by the west and he rejected in the end the west and he rejected in the end the kind of ideas we were putting forward. all of that has won the support of a very large number of russians. i would guess at the

moment, he doesn't particularly i suppose welcome the idea that russia is becoming more and more, as it were, a pariah state in the west. i do not think the chinese care about this. there were lots of places the russians can go because it is not a binary computation anymore. he looks to the west for a variety of reasons and he would not want it to get far. 0n the other hand coming here as to be to what he is persuading his people as a western conspiracy against him. and so there is a balance he has to strike. excuse me. i think there is another point about putin. we have an idea that he is in charge of everything. that is not realistic in any political system and was not even true under stalin. a lot of things escape his control. most of them do not matter as far as

he is concerned. i would assume this one does matter. if you want to be very unkind to putin you would say, either he gave the order which says one thing about him or he did not give the order, which would mean he is not in charge. neither of those are attractive propositions from his point of view. that idea was somewhat deflected in theresa may's beach was either he was in charge or they have let this stuff get out of control. -- speech. you said earlier it would be difficult to see where it would be difficult to see where it could de—escalate. do you think it could de—escalate. do you think it will be very difficult to try to unpick this? what could be the likely course of this row?|j unpick this? what could be the likely course of this row? i make a point these days of never predicting the future. what goes up does come down in the end there will come a point where both sides start looking for ways out of it. in the bad old

days of the cold war, it is not the cold war but a completely different set of circumstances. in those days we did pursue a double policy of standing upfor we did pursue a double policy of standing up for ourselves but also talking. that was a former policy of nato and that is what one has to do in real life. you cannot allow yourself to be pushed around beyond a certain point. 0n the other hand you have to sort things out. the only way you can do that is by using what used to be called diplomacy, a rather pristine just art and is, i fear, no longer. thank you very much. the former british ambassador to moscow. just hold on there for a second. thank you very much. police say tests carried out on a door from a flat in grenfell tower showed the door held back fire for only half as long as it was designed to. the housing secretary, sajid javid, told the commons that the government has ordered further tests but stressed there was no evidence

it's a systemic issue and the risk to public safety is low. 71 people died and dozens were injured in the fire in london lastjune. 0ur correspondent, lucinda adam, reports. witnesses to the grenfell tower fire and the emergency services were shocked by how quickly the fire spread around the tower block. now, expert tests on a glazed front door taken from an undamaged flat have found it held a fire forjust 15 minutes, not the 30 minutes it had been designed for. —— held off fire. it's very important for survivors of grenfell survivors and bereaved families to feel that we can honour the memories of those who have died, and one way we can bring justice is to make sure that regulations and progressive policies ensure that people feel safe in their homes once again. that means tightening regulations, that means honouring what happened at grenfell, by ensuring that people all around the united kingdom feel safe in their homes, but that also includes

people in social housing. nine months on, the metropolitan police continue forensic investigations at the scene, other expert tests are being done off—site. so far, the cladding and insulation on the outside of the building have failed tests by the government. once again, the failure of the door to resist fire has raised questions about whether people living in public housing are safe. deeply concerned, but not surprised. we have long through campaigns talked about the fact that there has been a legacy of neglect. it is vital, when we specify fire doors, it is vital that that we know what the product are, and that information is validated by third parties. but today, the housing secretary told the commons there was no evidence fire doors were a systematic issue, but ordered further investigation. the expert panel has advised that the risk to the public safety remains low. there is no change to fire safety advice

that the public should follow. i nevertheless fully appreciate that this news will be troubling for many people, not least those affected by the grenfell tragedy. that is why, based on expert advice, we have begun the process of conducting further tests. the metropolitan police say it's too early to say what impact these tests and others may have on the criminal investigation into what happened here, which will determine whether corporate manslaughter charges can be brought. but these latest results will only fuel the community's demand for answers about why the fire was so devastating and why so many died. lucinda adam, bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister visits all brief for the first time since the

poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. —— salisbury. there are calls to dismantle northampton county council after it fails to deal with a huge deficit. if you hadn't guessed, just from a little light across the bbc, it is the day when thousands of young people get behind the microphone or in front of the camera for school report. the focus of this year's project is helping young people to identify real news and filter out so—called fake news. trying to give them the tools to makejudgments trying to give them the tools to make judgments for themselves,

making editorial judgments for themselves. in the studio with me we had duncan, ellie and eve. you call from coventry. will be chatting ina call from coventry. will be chatting in a moment. 0ur correspondent, noel phillips, has been speaking to some of the students involved. let's see what he has to say. a busy afternoon. we're outside new broadcasting house. this is what we call a flat track. that transmits images and allows you quys that transmits images and allows you guys to see us live at home. —— sat truck foot will go over to this sat

truck foot will go over to this sat truck and speak to some talented young people. these teenagers have been playing a game called i report. they pretend in the virtual world that they are bbc news journalist or editor and they have to navigate their way around, checking sources are making sure the news they are producing is credible and accurate. how well prepared to you feel when you up on social media when you come across perhaps a story that is not true and it is basically fake news? it doesn't really prepare you that much was at this game is helping people because they news might make you believe something that is fake and believing that the rest of your life. this can help you tell the difference between real news and fa ke

difference between real news and fake news which i really like. that was noel out and about. we are too busy chatting, to be honest. we were talking about today in what they had been doing on school report. we have been doing on school report. we have been going around the bbc building and recording ourselves on the radio talking about fake news and the game we have been developing called i reporter. it is about going around deciding what fake and what is real news. what would you say are the main things you have been able to pick up? let's say you see a story online somewhere, how would you begin to try to assess and say, which bits of that are credible and which bits of that are credible and which bits of that are credible and which bits of that may be questionable. how would he go about that? firstly, you should really check if there is a green padlock to

cf is it is a safe url will stop if more than one person has it, it is quite possible that it is real. does that make sense? is that the kind of thing you have been up to? it is, actually. what have you been up to? this morning, we were playing a game and some people were taken out to go through this slide show. group b was able to go round the country area and relax. that sounds nice. i don't have a comfortable area. that sounds very good. we both talked about the game. many people will have seen the game. many people will have seen the game today but, for those of us who are joining game today but, for those of us who arejoining us now, telephone bit about this game. this game is

basically helping us learn about fa ke basically helping us learn about fake news and how to spot it, the difference of the real news and the fa ke difference of the real news and the fake news. it is pretending you are a journalist and trying to publish news to get everyone learning about it. has it been fun? yes. i found out that this game is fun but you actually do learn something in it. i was talking to my friends earlier andl was talking to my friends earlier and i remembered something from the game all—star and i was like, oh, that helped me learn, but didn't notice it because i was having fun. what kind of things does it ask you to do? well, you get someone saying something and you get to decide whether you want to check it out more what you want to post it as a headline now. so, you can really delve into it if you really want to.

also, you get to decide the right decisions and wrong decisions, obviously. where you put on the spot? did you think they were difficult decisions to make? some of them were quite challenging. you cannot have a game you fly through it. some of them were more obvious than others. do you feel in a better position tojudge... to have than others. do you feel in a better position to judge... to have a confident feel about what may or may not be something that is a bit questionable, maybe a bit fake? do you feel more confident now? as they have been saying there are lots of different things you can take from the game and use them in real life. you can see some people on social media just saying stuff about... they could pass around fake news and just trying to get people to watch their video. it is more important to

actually search up an actual website and actually listen to someone on social media who is ranting about something. let me ask you a different question: which is still to do with news. if i were to say to you, where do you get news from on a daily basis maybe? where would you get news from? i getting it on social media or using different apps? you using different news programmes on whatever channel? what do you come across? i mainly go on to your website and then check out the news on there and then i will go to itv and goes through their news and i'd just compare to itv and goes through their news and i'djust compare it to itv and goes through their news and i'd just compare it sometimes. do you like that? does it give you a sense of what is going on?|j do you like that? does it give you a sense of what is going on? i liked doing it to give me more understanding of what is going on.

eve, what is your take on this?|j eve, what is your take on this?” would never checked news on social media because it is like chinese whispers. you are properly get opposite stories but think it is real. many go on to your website. if there are things i do not understand i will probably go to newsround because it is more for our age. lots of encouraging answers. well done. why doesn't duncan hand us to the weather? you see camera two. you're going to look into camera two and say to viewers, the time is three minutes to six and we're going over to helen for the weather. it is three minutes to six and time for the weather with helen. it is not fake weather. but we have

winter returning for this weekend. at the moment there is rain in the north—east. heavy snow to come across the mountains in scotland and more rain following in on behind foot of it is mostly a rain issue. this evening and overnight, snow will become more of an issue. with the cloud, breeze and rain overnight it will not be particularly cold. the glens of scotland will be misty and foggy first thing tomorrow but that should clear quite quickly. again, rather cloudy day with outbreaks of rain or showers probably driest in the south. with increasing risk of snow in the north. that is where the warning sta rts north. that is where the warning starts as we go into friday. the temperatures in aberdeen and newcastle a re temperatures in aberdeen and newcastle are lower than today. as we go through the day the temperature could fall to lower levels. 50 millimetres of rain has fallen in places. in between the

showers with sunshine 14 won't feel too bad. through tomorrow evening and overnight, the easterly wind was set in. the weather front, the rainbow will turn progressively to snow. much colder. notice the temperatures tomorrow. below freezing in central and eastern areas. that is because the scandinavian pressure is sinking southwards, allowing an easterly wind to blast across the uk. what a shock to the system when we wake up on saturday! there should be some brightness around but also wintry showers. they will fall as snow. but amateur is barely above freezing on saturday. about 8 degrees down on what we have seen in recent days. with the effects of the wind it could feel much colder. 0n with the effects of the wind it could feel much colder. on sunday there is another fly in the ointment. widespread area of snow across the southern half of the

country together with the strong wind blowing the snow around making it feel icy with temperatures not getting above freezing. not too bad in the north, scotland and northern ireland, but the weather could be disruptive in the southern half of the uk. also blizzards and very icy conditions as well. the prime minister visited the crime scene today and welcomed the international support in the wake of the poisoning of the former russian spy. this happened in the uk, but it could have happened anywhere. and we take a united stance against it. now streets are cordoned off around the home of the police officer, still seriously ill after the attack, as the defence secretary voices his anger. if you are a nation and another nation has launched a nerve agent attack on your people and you have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. moscow continues to deny

being involved and says it will expel british diplomats in retaliation. also on the programme tonight. thousands flee the syrian enclave of eastern ghouta as government